1. Field
The following description relates to a Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) simulator enabling repeated defibrillation training, and more particularly, to a CPR simulator employing magnetic electrode pads, which enables repeated defibrillation training to be performed in conjunction with CPR.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure, performed in an effort to manually preserve brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person experiencing cardiac arrest. Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the heart rhythm and delivers a shock to restore proper heart function.
CPR and swift defibrillation are required to be performed as primary first aid treatment for a person during a sudden cardiac arrest. CPR requires the following steps: checking whether a patient is conscious or unconscious; asking someone to help or to call for emergency medical services; checking whether the patient is breathing normally; checking the carotid pulse; performing chest compressions if heart failure occurs; tilting the head back to clear the patient's airway; performing artificial respiration to provide air for the patient who is not breathing; and alternating chest compressions and artificial respiration until emergency crews arrive.
Rapid defibrillation means performing defibrillation on a patient using an AED possibly found in the surroundings or carried by an ambulance.
An AED is a device that delivers an electric shock to a patient in sudden cardiac arrest in order to resuscitate the heart of the patient. In more detail, the AED determines whether an electrocardiogram shows a normal wave or an abnormal wave, such as a ventricular fibrillation wave or a ventricular tachycardia wave, and then, if it is determined that the electrocardiogram shows an abnormal wave, sends an electronic shock to the heart so as to make the abnormal wave return to normalcy. These days, the AED is regarded to be as important as CPR. It is now imperative that public facilities be equipped with an AED, so it is easy to find the AED. In addition, the AED supports an audio guide function so that not only emergency crews, but ordinary people can handle the AED more easily.
The AED is used in conjunction with CPR, as described in the following: an electrode pad attaching step in which the AED is turned on and then electrode pads are attached, one to an area below the right clavicle and the other pad to an area below an armpit along the left torso at elbow level of a diaphragm; a heart rhythm analyzing step in which the heart rhythm is analyzed, and, if it is determined that defibrillation is necessary, the AED is automatically charged up to a preset level; a defibrillation step in which defibrillation is performed in response to a determination that defibrillation is necessary; and a repetitively performing step in which chest compression and artificial respiration are performed at a ratio of 30:2 after the analysis of the heart rhythm. Heart rhythm is analyzed at every two minutes, defibrillation is carried out, and the same operations are repeated sequentially.
The AED delivers an electric shock to the heart of a patient. In order to properly use the AED, medical experts are trained using an automated external defibrillator or a general defibrillator which is capable of delivering an electric shock. However, if an unskilled person administers the AED to deliver an electric shock, a dangerous accident may occur. For example, an excessive current may be discharged that threatens the patient's life. In addition, if an electric shock is generated repeatedly, every trainee cannot practice using a defibrillator due to limited battery life. For this reason, unskilled people are trained using an AED trainer, which is virtually the same as an AED, but does not deliver an electric shock.
Generally, a pair of one-time use electrode pads is provided for defibrillation training. An electrode pad is attached to the chest of a human body to analyze an electrocardiogram (ECG) signal, and deliver an electric shock to the body. A once-used electrode pad can hardly be attached again to the chest due to dust and foreign particles. In addition, the gel of an unsealed electrode may become drier with the passage of time, and thus adhesive force may be reduced. All of the above conditions may lead to an error in analyzing an ECG signal, thereby making it impossible to properly handle a patient. For example, an AED may deliver an electronic shock to a patient although it is not necessary. For those reasons, an electrode pad is recommended to be used only once. Yet, as defibrillation training aims for educating a plurality of trainees, an electrode pad is used repeatedly due to costs.
A pair of electrode pads of an AED needs to be attached to an area below the right clavicle and to an area below an armpit along the left torso at elbow level of a human body. Each electrode pad includes a drawing that shows the exact points on the body at which the electrode pads need to be attached. Nonetheless, an unskilled person may still attach an electrode pad on an incorrect area, or attach a left-side electrode pad to the right side of the body, and vice versa. In the above cases, an electrocardiogram wave may not be measured, or an electrocardiogram of a patient may be analyzed incorrectly due to a changed phase. For this reason, repeated defibrillation training is required to train a trainee in accurately attaching electrode pads on the correct areas of the body.
In the related art, a plurality of trainees cannot be sufficiently trained in using a defibrillator due to costs of changing electrode pads. In other words, a disposable electrode pad is used several times in spite of a possibility that an ECG signal may be analyzed incorrectly. In addition, a CPR simulator used for defibrillation training is simply a model of a real human body, and it is unable to recognize exact locations of electrode pads to thereby analyze an ECG signal and delivering an electric shock.